was the intraday high. if we keep going like this, we will have a new record closing high. ironic, isn't it, that at the moment when the market hits a record high, the president and his growth agenda seem to be in some trouble in the swamp. time's up. neil, it's yours. neil: real quickly, stuart, i was catching earlier -- that was a great interview -- but early on you and peter reminiscing about the good old days in college. did you both protest? stuart: is that question to you -- neil: to you. stuart: i did. neil: and what was it, for like more grey poupon? stuart: i was at the londonschos probably the most radical college in britain. we sat around and talked politics all day long as we drank our pints of beer at lunchtime and, yes, i was a socialist. i think it was winston churchill who said if you're not a socialist by the age of 25, you have no heart. if you're still a socialist

after 25, you have no head. can i leave it at that? neil: yeah. because you missed the line he said right after that, i'll have another payment. [laughter] stuart: no, he was a brandy drinker, cause i recall. neil: no, that was very interesting stuff. my friend, we are on on top of these developments. a lot of it buoyed by at least indications the administration is still trying the move forward with an agenda. the president right now meeting with top republicans on the status of that health care measure. those republicans aren't sharing anything, but as stuart pointed out, it faces a lot of headwinds, not the least of which coming from republicans some of whom are annoyed that the leadership isn't letting them in on what they're cooking up there. this is typical what happens when you meet with a small group, the rest of the group feels like it's been shunted aside. we're keeping an eye on that and a busy news day when, of course, we're going to hear jeff sessions speaking before the senate intelligence committee at 2:30 eastern time.

the president also has a trip planned to wisconsin to talk up job skills and the future electricians and plumbers among us who we tend to pooh-pooh, but in this society maybe we should not. to fox business network's blake burman on all these fast-moving developments at the white house. hey, blake. >> reporter: hi there, neil. we have every reason to believe at this moment that the lunchtime meeting with the president, the vice president and those 13 republican senators on the issue of health care is underway here at the white house. i was speaking with a white house official just a little while ago, earlier this morning, and this meeting by this official was described to me really as a way for some of these folks to clear the air on some of the issues that they might have among them. even though this is republican senators meeting with republican senator on the future of this republican-led health care bill, there are still some issues. for example, like the phasing out of medicaid expansion which was described to me as the big issue in the room at this point, and they'll be able to have an open dialogue as it relates to that and other topics.

this white house official also said to me as it relates to health care reform, the white house actually feels that they're in a pretty good spot right now with the senate trying to move be its bill forward. and i was told that an early july time frame is where things look like it is heading at this moment. there has, neil, been a coordinated effort from the white house and republicans here in washington on this day on a very specific message, and this deals with the report that was put out within the last 24 hours or so from the centers for medicare and medicaid services which showed that even though some 12.2 million people had signed up for health care through the end means afforded by the affordable care act, only 10.3 million had made their first month's payment. to that end, president trump on this day tweeted out the following. he said, quote: two million more people just dropped out of obamacare. it is in a death spiral. obstructionist democrats gave up, have no answer equals resist. vice president pence talked

about this earlier today as well, and he explained it this way, listen. >> high costs and a lack of affordability were the most common factors individuals cited when asked why they didn't keep their coverage. the affordable care act is failing, and american families and businesses are paying the price. >> reporter: so, neil, right now here at the white house you've got this lunchtime meeting going on. after that president trump will then get on air force one and head to wisconsin where the administration is trying to launch this work force development week. but even before the president steps off the plane, he will be meeting with what the white house describes as obamacare victims and then give a speech about obamacare. the white house official that i was speaking to earlier this morning was trying to make the point that, look, even though they are putting out some of these initiatives, no matter what at this point a lot still circles back to trying to get health care reform done. neil: normally you think about it when you are six months behind on your auto insurance,

your coverage is cut. obviously, that that's not politically desirable to do with this, but that would mean two million fewer people potentially who really shouldn't have coverage because they've not paid the premiums to have that coverage which would not look good for the affordable care act if you have two million who can't afford it or pay the premiums, so two million fewer who have it. >> reporter: and you're right. the issue here is 12.2 million signed up, but then you've got to make a payment after you sign up, and only 10.3 million have done that. so there's a lot of questions. why? do they realize it's not worth it? can't they pay for it? but republicans are hammering the home the point of, look, as the president says, this thing is in a death spiral. as you talk to more focus here, they are pointing the this very thing as saying, look, this is an example that they need to push forward as to why they need to move forward on health care. neil: yeah. all right, we'll watch it very closely. blake, thank you very much.

all right, well, those health care details being discussed by these dozen or so republican senators at the white house radioare not being shared with many people outside the white house or outside that dozen or so republican contingent, and that could cause problems not only with the democrats -- that's a gimme -- but with other republicans who want to know what the heck is going on in there. to politico's rachel wade on if this strategy could backfire. i understand democrats did same in small groups meeting with president obama when they were cooking up the affordable care act, but it always rubs some people the wrong way, doesn't it? >> absolutely. and i would just say, first of all, this is very mitch mcconnellment he has always been known as this quiet, secretive political operator who doesn't tout his opinions much and keeps his plans so tight that sometimes even his number two in republican leadership in the senate doesn't know what he's going to do. in this situation he has this tricky task of putting together a bill that will pass his

chamber, meaning get support from moderate republican senators but also conservative republican senators. and my guess is he's doing this because he's afraid what happened in the house will happen here which is that some of it leaks out, conservatives blast it, and all of a sudden any momentum is stalled or, vice versa, it leaks out, moderates don't like it and they blast it, and everything is sort of held up. so he wants to build this sort of quiet coalition. the trick is he's got to make sure he doesn't tick off some of those senate republicans by keeping them in the dark. neil: yeah, you're going to get someone annoyed. i wonder in keeping with that theme of, you know, not exacerbating tensions, this notion that maybe they were going to combine this health care rework with the tax cut rework as well, boy, you talk about a big old omnibus piece of legislation right there. where does that stand? >> i don't think that's likely. i think that there has been some talk about that rank and file, some conservatives in the house

have floated that, but this is a giant task, obamacare repeal and then tax reform. tax reform isn't anywhere near done at this point, and they want to get obamacare done in the next month or so -- neil: but, rachel, wasn't their argument -- and i agree, i think you're right about that -- but wasn't the argument to combine the two that if you didn't like one, but you liked the other, you'll be inclined to support a package that combines both? that was at least the crazy thinking behind it when it was first cooked up. i imagine it's now on a back burner. >> sure, yeah. i don't think leadership is taking that seriously. and i think it all has to do with the timeline. sure, when you combine things, you can potentially build some sort of coalition that you couldn't otherwise get because people don't like part of this bill or part of that bill. but the issue here is time. republicans want to finish their obamacare repeal before they go home for the august recess. tax reform is not going to be anywhere near -- neil: when you say "finish," i keep jumping on you, i apologize, rachel. when you say finish, that means get it done or finish the

package that will be voted on when they return after the recess? >> so the way they're talking right now, they want to have the senate vote on something before the july 4th recess, come back, hammer out a conference, clear that bill, get it to obama -- get it to president trump's desk for signature. i think if they don't do that, there's going to be a lot of pressure to move on to tax reform before the end of the year because once to the end of year hits and we're in campaign season, it becomes harder to do anything. neil: yeah. to say nothing of pushing this off until next year. people seem to think that's a possibility, but even harder to do next year. rachel bade, good seeing you again. thank you. >> good seeing you. neil: in the meantime, jeff sessions expected to testify up on capitol hill in a little bit more than two hours. now, about that economic agenda, once he starts speaking is all of that taking a backseat? elijah collins, cabot phillips of campusreform.org.

cabot, end with you and begin with you on this idea about a very busy agenda here that republicans hope, fingers crossed, isn't stymied by all things, you know, comey and sessions and who knew what and when about russia. what do you think? >> well, for the media to actually cover president trump's agenda, that'd be a positive thing. heaven forbid the mainstream media actually cover issues for president trump, because that would fight their narrative that this is the chaos presidency s and everything president trump is doing is going to lead us down the road of despair. so i think that no matter what happens today, the media already has their narrative set. it's that this is right around the corner for president trump's impeachment and that president -- attorney general sessions could get up there and read the phonebook, and the media would still portray it as the end of the world news they want to discredit the president's jobs plan. think most americans are far more concerned to get the economy going, to get more jobs, specifically those trade jobs going.

and they're being -- there's a disservice being done by the mainstream media in not covering that and covering everything else. neil: eliza, where's all of this going? >> you are right in that the media is covering the russia stuff, but i also would argue as a member of the media that we do have someone covering president trump, we have a whole white house team, we have people out in wisconsin covering him. part of the problem, and this is something that republican senators are also saying, lindsey graham said this last night is, yes, this is being covered, you know, the investigation is moving forward, these hearings are in public, they are being aired. but another part of it is the president himself. he can't seem to get out of this narrative. this morning he tweeted, like, five times before he tweeted about jobs. neil: no, you're right about that. he's his own worst enemy sometimes, and he feeds the beast. as i've said here, he acts beastly doing it. ashley, if that's the case, should the president -- it's fine to tweet -- stick to the subject that he wants to tweet about and will do him the most good, not focusing on this stuff

but on, presumably, the economic stuff? >> correct. this he said/she said and personal attacks on twitter and going after his own party and going after other members of the administration and calling the media liars, like, that's all fine and good, but that doesn't keep him on track with his agenda and job-setting narrative that he wants. and then you have, you know, white house press secretary sean spicer trying to backtrack all of this in prison, you know, pools every day -- in press pools every day and trying to say let's get back to the main point, jobs, the economy. that's very hard to do when you have president donald trump who just can't seem to resist doing that. if they really want to stay on track with this agenda, they really need to rein in his use of the 140 characters every day. neil: you know what i worry about back and forth on this is that i believe it's possible to get into this russia stuff as much as you want, get into the economic stuff. i agree with what cabot was talking about, that there are

those who are looking at all of the above. but when we don't, cabot, and disproportionately focus on this -- and i can understand the argument we have been raising here that the media, too, can follow this and other things. but when i hear many in the media talking about not believing they have to be balanced about this, i worry. and the reason why -- margaret sullivan was writing in "the washington post" yesterday that that is not a requirement, this idea of balance is not a requirement. that trump is retreating to fox news cocoon, she points out. because everywhere else you look the coverage of him is overwhelmingly bad, as if that might not make some in the media pause to think, well, maybe it is overwhelmingly bad, and maybe you should balance that out. but, cabot, we don't. that's just with it, it's not balanced out. >> it certainly might help the president to lay low, not tweet as much or at least not the things that he is. let's be honest, this is not about what the president's tweeting, because even when the

president's not tweeting, the media narrative now becomes when will he tweet, did someone steal his phone. so it's still negative coverage. it's almost like he can't win -- >> wait, why can't it be about jobs instead? neil: he compounds it, you know? i agree with you. that's a good story to tell, the meeting with ceos and the jobs, low unemployment rate, that's a fairly good story to tell. >> absolutely. neil: when he goes off on this stuff, and it justifiably ticks him off, i understand that. he's losing folks. >> i agree. and i do think that this jobs issue this week should be a good week for him even moving forward. whatever happens today, i think he would be well served to stay away from twitter or at least stay on topic and to talk about this. i think the american people want to hear him because when they do, when they hear about the fact bringing back these apprenticeship jobs, encouraging people that a four-year college education is not for everyone. it's important that some people go out and work with their hands, those are good jobs -- neil: i want to quote from sullivan's column in "the

washington post" yesterday, because this stuck with me and maybe too much so because it's not my definition of fair and balanced. not the "usa today" definition of fair and balanced. the idea of balance, she says, is suspect on its face. should positive coverage be provided as if it were a birthright to a president who consistently lies, who has spilled classified information to an adversary and who fired the fbi director who is investigating his investigation investigation -- administration? that's why to say something nice about donald trump is so unsured -- absurd. balance doesn't even have to come into the equation. what do you think of that? >> i think that is problematic for reporters who are trying to be fair and balanced, because the argument that things that are alleged to have happened or have happened make the job that we're doing today covering something like the jobs or even covering the the sessions hearing, that shouldn't be -- neil: what she said is the bad stuff is now assumed fact, and

the good stuff is assumed not covered. [laughter] >> i think that -- i would argue that that's not how we do things at "usa today." neil: i know you don't. >> we really try. and it hurts reporters who are trying to be fair and balanced. i'm making that argument. and you should be putting op-eds of all sides in your newspaper, that's why it's an op-ed. neil: i kind of know how you were going to come across on that, and i accept that. and believe me, no apologist for the president, as regular viewers would know. ashley, whatever he's going to do now in wisconsin will get lost in the sessions sauce. maybe that's just the way things are. but i'm just saying again and again this is what happens. >> yes. and, i mean, you know, a lot of this has been created by his own, again, tweeting. he -- had he not tweeted, you know, a couple months ago on a saturday morning about the comey wiretapping and all of this other stuff and everything else, i don't think we would be focusing on any of this right now.

however, with that said, i do think there's one striking thing there that you quoted from that piece. and that's the fact that had maybe hillary clinton been president, would they have written something like that too? because some of the same things that that reporter mentioned in there were things that had happened to her on that campaign trail when it came to lying -- neil: bingo. >> so would it have been fair and balanced at that point had a, let's say, "wall street journal" run a similar thing on hillary clinton if she had been president? i think we need to really take it back here and realize that the media has a job to do -- neil: we all do. >> -- report the news, but it does need to be fair, it does need to be balanced, and you can't just be one-sided in your coverage. neil: very good. i will leave you with this final line from margaret sullivan because it sticks to the core of what we're talking about, guys. we've got plenty of things to improve on -- she's talking about the media. giving trump gratuitous strokes is not one of them. i don't think she has to worry about that. [laughter] we'll have more after this.

[ mooing sound ] [ laughing ]

it's drivng me crazy come on. [ spitting from tongue ] time for my secret weapon. sports, movies, tv, ah... show me music to distract a minion. [ voice remote click ] [ pharrell starts to play ] ahh. i'm pretty smart- ahhh! [ mooing sounds ] [ minions laughing ] show me unicorns. [ voice remote click ] together: ahhh... that works too. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. see despicable me 3 in cinemas in june. neil: all right. it's always helpful to know how the boss is feeling right now, and right now these days if you wanted to stop in and see him or her, pretty upbeat. 54% of u.s. ceos are highly confident in u.s. economic

growth over the next three years. that is more than double what it was just a year ago. to the man in charge of that survey and his calls, they all answered, kpmg global chairman john see meyer. good to have you. >> thanks, neil. neil: 1300 ceos across a broad swath, right? >> across the world. neil: disproportionately across the united states. >> yeah. confidence levs are high -- levels are high, but everywhere but the u.s. there are lower levels of confidence than prior years surveyed. the u.s. is the only market where ceos are more confident than they were last year, which is interesting. neil: what has them more confident? >> you know, i think it has a lot to do with the current agenda in the u.s.; regulatory reform -- hopes for regulatory reform, tax reform, infrastructure spending. all those things we're trying to

talk about here in the u.s. and trying to get some movement on. neil: do they worry, and, of course, this is a more recent development, but do they worry with, like, you know, the attorney general sessions testifying today? more talk about russia, comey, hearings and all of that? that it distracts or even takes away, delays, even denies that agenda that they want to see? >> listen, obviously, those are important issues, but i was in washington last week with a group of ceos, and what the ceos in this country want focus on are jobs, tax reform, regulatory reform, infrastructure spend, right? that's what's going to get this economy going, that's what's going to get more people -- neil: do they base their hiring on that optimism? in other words, even if it doesn't come to fruition right away, they are banking on tax cuts happening, banking on regulations being rolled a back. if it's delayed or denied, does

that optimism turn to cynicism or what? >> well, there is no doubt, for example, if we don't get tax reform done this year, i think you will see a dropoff in optimism on part -- neil: so it has to be a this-year event. >> well, we have to get it done. i think there's a lot of people who understand the process better than i do who will tell you if we don't get it done this year, the prospects of getting it done or early in '18, the prospects of getting it done drop off quite a bit before the -- neil: in other words, they're cynical in a midterm election year, 2018, that it's very tough to get that kind of stuff i through. >> it's tough to get something like tax reform done anytime -- neil: any year, yeah. >> and this is clearly the window, i think, a lot of us believe where we have the best chance of getting that done. and to the point of employment, it's interesting, the ceos in our survey clearly link levels of confidence and optimism over the next three years with plans for hiring over the next three years as well. so still upbeat, a little bit

soft compared to last year, but still a lot of hiring on the plans of ceos in our survey. neil: so this seems to be o'donald trump-centric. i'm not trying to -- to be donald trump-centric. if his approval numbers remain low, and that's always subject to change, then what? >> the issue, i think, is can we get some things done in washington. obviously, the president has a part to to play in that, but so does congress -- neil: so it's the message, not the merge so much. >> i think that's absolutely the mindset of ceos across the country, that we want to be part of a process of trying to move the economy, the country forward, and that's going to take business, congress, white house, i think all working together. and that's the agenda we're focused on right now. neil: but again, the year-over-year numbers, we're the ones approving in this country, not so abroad. that's interesting. >> it is -- neil: it's still high numbers but just not as high as last year. >> you know, i think irrespective of some of the

political things we're talking about here, i think when you travel around the world and people say if i had one dollar to invest -- and i don't mean in the market, i mean in business and employment -- i'd do it in the u.s. so the u.s. is still perceived as one of the healthiest economies around the world. neil: all right. the guy i was just talking about is jumping on you here, john. donald trump moments ago at the white house talking up getting health care done and getting it done soon. let's listen in. >> that two million people have dropped out of obamacare, two million additional. they're leaving fast. premiums have increased by an average of more than 100% nationwide. in north carolina premiums have gone up 176%. in arkansas premiums have gone up 128%. in pennsylvania premiums have gone up by 120%, and i hate to say this to you, lisa, but in alaska they've gone up 207% on obamacare. you know, i used to mention only

arizona because they were up 116% in arizona. now arizona's, like, good by comparison to some of numbers. but they're way up in arizona also. insurers are fleeing the market. last week it was announceed that one of the largest insurers is pulling out of ohio. great state of ohio. that could mean another 20 counties, at least 19,000 people in ohio will have no plan at all. nationwide one in three u.s. counties have only a single insurer, and many of those insurers, as you know, have announced that they're leaving. obamacare has been broken, and it's been a broken promise. one after another americans were told that if you liked your doctor, you'll keep your doctor. that was a lie. they were told that if you liked your plan, you'd keep your plan. that was a lie. americans were told the premiums would go down by $2,500 per

year, and instead their premiums went up to levels that nobody thought even possible. the house has passed a bill, and now the senate is working very, very hard -- and specifically the folks in this room, and i really appreciate what you're doing -- to come out with a bill that's going to be a phenomenal bill for the people of our country. generous, kind, with heart, that's what i'm saying. and that may be adding additional money into it. going to come out with a real bill, not obamacare. and the results are going to be fantastic and, hopefully, it'll be announced at the appropriate time, and everyone's going to be happy. but by contrast, republicans in congress, as hard as they're working, you have the democrats on the other side who truly have become obstructionists. even their new motto, resist.

and i guess it's a pretty accurate motto. every time i see it, i say, that's right, that does represent the democrats. it's called resist. and it's very unfortunate. i actually said if we came up with the greatest health care plan or tax cut, because we're coming out with massive tax cut and tax reform, but if we came up with the the greatest health care or tax cut ever in our country's history, we wouldn't get one democrat vote. it's obstruction. so the republicans are working hard. we've passed and signed 38 pieces of legislation which nobody likes to talk about. i think probably seldom has any president and administration done more or had more success so early on including a record number of resolutions to eliminate job-killing regulations. and we see it all over the country where jobs are starting that would never have started ever under any circumstances.

so i'd like to thank our great vice president for being here. i'd like to thank all of the senators who i have so much respect for. i've gotten to know and love some of 'em and know and like others. [laughter] but i have great relationships with every one of 'em, and i tell you what, i do have a lot of respect for the people in this room. i can tell you that that very m. just a little bit on the economy. unemployment has fallen to a 16-year low, and manufacturing confidence is at an all-time high. just came out with a report, the highest level of confidence in the history of the reports which are, they've been taking these statistics for many, many years, mike, i'll tell you. and in the history of this report, the confidence level is at the highest points it's ever been. companies are moving back into the united states. you see that in michigan where the i auto companies are coming back in and expanding their existing plants and saying, well, maybe we're be just going to have to build in the united

states, and that's the way it's going to be. i was also really thrilled last week and had a lot to do with even their opening ceremony where in pennsylvania they're opening a brand new coal mine. that's the first one that's opened in this country in a long time. it's brand new. many of them are being reopened, but this is a brand new mine. that hasn't happened for many years. so we're keeping our promise to the american people, and that's why it's so important for the senate and the senators that are with us today to come up with a great health care plan. and i really believe they're going to be able to do it. we're very close, and i really believe they're going to be able to do it. so the able to do it. and the economy is great, everything seems to be working well and big focus, going to be tax cuts, tax reform, very major infrastructure plan, and for this group, focused on obamacare

repeal and replace. i have been talking about repealing and replacing obamacare for almost two years. on june 16th, june 14th is my birthday but june 16th was the day i announced i was running. some people said really? that going to happen? it happened but it has been exactly coming three days exactly, we are very happy about that. from day one, i said we would repeal and replace obamacare and we kept our promises, got rid of regulations, the economy is going really well and going to get better, numbers for the quarter are going to get really good. when the numbers are announced, gdp numbers, based on the facts we are hearing and based on enthusiasm because they were doing well and we just started. i want to thank you for being

here. now we will start talking about replacement for obamacare, what would be better than obamacare. as soon as we can. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. >> my favorite point in these events, you can hear someone saying bye-bye, get down the bench, you are leaving now. the president meeting with republican senators, dozen of them who will be playing a key role in trying to shepherd through whatever they got on healthcare. we are getting wind that the idea of combining this with tax cuts, as hopeful as mitch mcconnell was, the republican leader, does not look good right now am a herculean task to begin with but they hope to make some

progress and maybe by july, to get some sort of healthcare package through the senate and the two sides will thrash it out before the august recess and they are out for the entire month of august. but who isn't? in the meantime the developments we are following having to do with this russia thing, deputy attorney general is answering questions back and forth. if the white house was indeed looking to fire the chief counsel, here is what he had to say. >> in this matter, you are the one exercising, hiring and firing authority because attorney general sessions is recused. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> have you seen evidence of good cause for firing special counsel mueller? >> i have not. neil: if it were forced on them in the president that i want this guy out, would he do it? would it be like another richard

nixon massacre? we are a long way from there. this is conjecture. most of the white house pooh-poohing this story. deputy assistant general tom dupree, good to have you. he does not sound like a guy who would welcome an order from the white house to can mueller at this point. >> exactly right. that is an understatement. the deputy attorney general would be shocked if he were to receive an order from the president directing him to fire bob mueller for good cause. the deputy attorney general's view and special counsel is just getting started assembling a staff, making initial inquiries and as deputy attorney general testified, no reason for terminating bob mueller at this point. neil: is that a signal he wanted to send the boss, if you are entertaining this, don't? >> it could be.

we heard earlier today there were reports the president might be considering a move of this nature, deputy attorney general wanting to put down a marker and simply said if you are looking for me to stay there is good cause to terminate mueller you got to get another guy in my job because i'm sure not going to do it. neil: richard nixon worked on the bench until they get to the solicitor general. what happens here? we are getting ahead of ourselves as you like to remind me, this is even being considered. it festered out there. that it would be so uproarious that the gain from it would be dwarfed by the horrible reaction? >> i think that is right. this would be an absolute pr meltdown nightmare disaster if they were to pull the plug on bob mueller at this point. you would hear from the media, you would hear echoes of

watergate, watergate all over again. neil: they are doing that already. >> it would be feeding the fire. i would be surprised i the president did that. neil: investigations go on even though -- the fact we forget. >> we had episode in our history with multiple special counsel come in over the course of a particular investigation. it is not certain bob mueller will see this through from beginning to end if this turned out to be one of those investigations which i hope it is not. it stretches over years. neil: what do you think it is going to be? >> at least a year if i had to ballpark. look back at our history and it is almost always case that these sorts of investigations take on a life of their own, extend beyond what any person reasonably expected, the iran

contra investigation is exhibit a and something can stretch on for what seems a quarter of our nation's history and even whitewater turned into the monica lewinsky investigation. when you start things in motion, you never know how they will unfold and where we will wind up at the end is a. neil: each of those cases other stuff wasn't getting done because the nation become so fixated on the scandal. >> it absolutely does. every day, new development have to be investigated and you have the dynamic of them investigating, tends to obstruct the investigation itself, these things can be self-perpetuating and go on forever. >> you are such a good guest. tom dupree. then you get journalists like charlie gasparino digging into things and never letting up, bringing a lot of news left and right, has been on a tear. 's office is still a mess but he

has more news, miami marlins in a bidding war. >> initially involved jeb bush and derek jeter. the romney family was one of the bidders, the price tag was thought to be done at $1.3 billion. everybody but foxbusiness said the bidding war was over and was being won by jeter and busch. here is where it is now. the bidding war itself has been tabled, it is essentially off right now. as we reported jeter and busch are out but now thad romney, they do not have enough money. neil: don't they leverage off $1.3 billion, if they can pony up 100 will million dollars that is not enough. >> me to the baseball what's

cash for the franchise and there have been times in the past owners have bought based on leverage and it screwed up the team and you heard the league. what we have now is jeter and busch out as reported last weekend romney, the romney bidding group is hundreds of millions of dollars short on the $1.3 billion, what the owner of the marlins has been told point blank, you have to bring the price tag down to somewhere at $900 million or less if you want to sell this. 12 years ago for $150 million, you could make a decent profit but he had to bid all the way up and even at $900 million it might come down to $600 million. neil: take the money that has been deposited and leverage off of that.

>> you need cash. the economics of baseball right now, particularly hurt the team like the marlins, declining attendance, the name is just a fish. might as well call them the minnows. you have the name, the stadium which is loaded with death, you have south florida which is really hot in the winter, getting to the ballpark and here are the dynamics of baseball. in the old days used to sell your packages, the television rights for a lot of money, can't do that anymore, people are cutting the cord. this bidding war is off. he may get $900 million, that is what people are saying, that is still a lot of money. one other point on trump. do you think donald trump will last a year with this stuff every day in this? neil: if it doesn't announce anything yes. if it starts tick-tock mister

wing -- >> he should die, every day, fake news, he is going to go nuts. neil: he doesn't like you. join the club. >> birds of a feather. i was asking for obamacare help and they want money now after that. disease. you too, unnecessary er visits. and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. and fragmented care- stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done.

..

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ordinarily receive and use it to give residents federal health and pay for coverage outside the marketplace. like the federal rewrite of obamacare in congress offering tax credits instead of subsidies to pay for coverage. iowans facing the possibility no insurers will underwrite obama to the care coverage in 2018, two companies have pulled out and another is threatening to do the same thing. the ideas being put forward by iowa's insurance commissioner who told the local media this, quote, it is unacceptable to have an individual market. they can't function. we are attempting to thread the needle between the current structure of the aca and making insurance available for 2018. to get approval from the centers for medicare and medicaid services, iowa has submitted this, 30 page proposal calls a stopgap measure to overhaul its marketplace. the request was filed under an

obscure portion of the aca, section 1332 which allows waivers for innovation. some are saying iowa's plan their too extreme to qualify as innovation designation and as you know, iowa not alone in facing no insurers on the exchange, three other states, ohio, missouri, washington, 4 dozen countries where no insurers are willing to sell plans in 2018. i am told tossing it back to you that cms is considering this and you have to wonder could this become the paradigm for changing obamacare at its source with the state leading the way? neil: and kneading the dough. thank you very much, good seeing you again. treasury secretary steve mnuchin insists tax reform remains the highest priority and the goal is to get it done this summer. is that doable? after this.

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than having tax reform done this year. if i talked about we need to get back to sustained economic growth, 3% or higher, to do that we need to have tax reform, regulatory relief and trade. we are working every day, working with the house and senate, we are committed to get this done, we will do everything possible to get it done this year. neil: you notice steve mnuchin was telling maria bartiroma this summer, if it doesn't happen in the summer, it pushed back in the fall, the financial expert, radio show host -- whether that timeline is doable. what do you think realistically? >> i think what we are depending upon is republicans coming together and uniting, a scary

thought that that -- 35 days from september 30th where they are both in session together to hammer this out. it has to get done. it has to get done this year. maybe if it goes beyond september 30th, you have a debt ceiling, we are not going to be working that many hours, if it goes to 2080 we are in trouble. that is in a very negative way and i'm concerned. >> that should ease your feelings, the idea that 2018 is an alternative, better late than never, midterm election years are problematic for getting anything done. having said that, the president is obviously looking at what barack obama was able to do with

the healthcare, the affordable care act and get that passed in midterm year but it was early on in the year and had the benefit of working with democrats in the house and senate. on the details, combining with healthcare reform, they are widely a >> so far apart on this, with the healthcare bill would be a nightmare and -- neil: until next year. delay doesn't mean deny, it means we will get this done. may be so. it is a tough quest here. >> it is an election year. now you are going to have republicans concerned with, is a

vote for this showing support for the president and mainstream media convincing me that support for the president is going to be bad for me. they have a whole new set of circumstances they will try to digest if this thing goes into next year and it could be scary. neil: we will be watching closely. the press secretary will join us, he is optimistic that this timetable is doable. the healthcare sets the stage for these tax cuts, or does it, after this. but when family members forget, trust angie's list to help. [ barks ] visit angieslist.com today.

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discover how we can help find your unlock. senate is working very very hard, specifically the folks in this room and i appreciate what you are doing to come out with a bill that is going to be a phenomenal bill, the people of our country, generous, kind, that is what i am saying. neil: are the markets are concerned there might be an uphill battle, funny way of showing it, the dow uncomfortable territory again largely on optimism that the trump agenda remains intact, it is doable and to at least read the administration goings-on they are putting the mechanics together of getting healthcare done, tax cut after that and this summer at the latest labor day development. is that doable? mike pence is on capitol hill

meeting with senate republicans, the press secretary with us now. good to have you. how doable is that timetable? everyone comes back to not only this year but we just heard from steve mnuchin's this summer on the tax-cut stuff. is that doable? >> republicans on the hill working with the white house to advance the president's agenda whether that be with healthcare as the vice president was speaking this morning, met with senate leaders this afternoon at lunch and on capitol hill right now but tax reform, solid fiscal budget plan that is going to come out later this year, all these things republicans are moving the president's agenda forward and that is where our focus is at the white house. warner: the i was noticing the president meeting with republican senators some of whom, senator mikulski of alaska, more the moderate variety who wants tax cuts paid for, money that does not have us

go deeper into debt to pay for them. is the president of that mindset? pay for the taxes, go for broke, get the revenue later? >> what you have seen the president they were coming from mick mulvaney is we understand tax cuts will get this economy moving, we cannot have america with 1.9% growth as the norm. that is not the norm, that is the obama norm. the history has been 3% growth in the president focused on getting us back to 3% growth and when we do that we unleash the power of the economy and put americans back to work, you are going to see revenue increase and that is where the focus is to make sure we get this economy moving again. neil: you need to do that with tax cuts that are essential which means tax cuts that up front at least would not be paid for. >> you are also looking at sound budgeting you have seen in the budget proposal, director mick mulvaney and the white house put

out recently balances within we 10 years, something the president has been committed to, something that is a new and in recent years in washington dc doing fiscal responsible budgeting, looking for government waste and finding ways to be better stewards of the taxpayer dollars. >> he would not be the first to weed out waste and to be used, they are about to do it, they all failed. what makes you think you will succeed? >> what you have seen in the president's budget proposal we are looking at reducing overlapping programs, looking at cutting budgets, forcing budget agencies, to look at their own internal mechanics and go where can we become more efficient and that is where this can be done when you look at department level, each of these leaders the president put together on his cabinet as the vice president is the most conservative cabinet in the history of america.

when you look at these business leaders, accomplished leaders they look to root out waste and really do more with less. state and local governments have been doing it for years, americans at home have been doing it for years, time for the federal government to do the same. neil: let me step back a little bit and talk about the mechanics of this. one idea that has been bounced around is combining the tax-cut with healthcare reform effort but almost everyone i have been talking to since that was discussed, the hope is that would expedite things, it would complicate things, drag things out. are you of the opinion that was a balloon shot down? >> donald trump said from the campaign trail the moment he had an office repealing and replacing obamacare is one of our top priorities. it is a rescue mission. we saw yesterday with a new report, 2 million fewer people are on the obamacare exchanges and the most common factors cited were high costs and lack

of affordability so we got to do something to rescue the american people from the failure that is obamacare but it the same time that is a large budget expenditure so once we get a handle on those outweighs and what that will look like moving forward to give the budget people a better idea what is going to be required as they move the budget package through later this summer. neil: are still of the notion that this summer all this gets done. >> we don't like to put timelines, this is a legislative process, the healthcare bill is in the senate. tax reform will start in the house where bills originate come all those things are going to be working together. what you see from republicans on capitol hill here at the white house, we can do many things on behalf of the american people at the same time. the president is not patient. he wantss it done, for the american people and so simple

things like the repeal of dodd-frank on the house, next week the house will take up workforce development and career and technical education legislation. we can do all these things at once and that is what the present expect from his administration, republicans are responding on the hill, the an end is a we will get this economy moving again. neil: do you worry about the up session with all things russia, the attorney general testifying on the senate intelligence committee after comey, this is robbing you of vital oxygen to address the stuff? >> the vice president has said many times whatever the mainstream media might be covering or obsessed with in washington is not distracting folks at the white house and on capitol hill. as you see this legislation moving forward, you see senators coming to the white house to brief the president and vice president on healthcare, the vice president is on capitol hill as we speak continuing that

conversation. despite the distraction of the national media and the mainstream media the work continues on behalf of the american people under donald trump. neil: who is the worst of the media? you follow the media, who makes you vomit? >> it is my job to interact and have a lot of respect for the media. i don't necessarily agree with everything they have said but i wouldn't call out anybody specifically. ultimately i want to make sure we are doing what we can for the american people and say are seeing the results and that is what you see in consumer confidence, unemployment, the american people can see the progress going on, the growth in america whether some others see it or not. warner: the i was hoping to get you a weak moment. very good seeing you, thank you. charlie gasparino, doable timetable? >> i guess so. why not? you have a gun put your head because you have 2018 midterms out there.

neil: the magnitude of that. >> maybe donald trump doesn't, or doesn't care but -- neil: the fact the house and senate are far apart on certain details -- they don't see any sense of urgency. charles: that is a problem if they are far apart and there's a battle over deductions the president wantss cut out, state and local taxes, sounds good we should cut it out. neil: not in this city and state. charles: republicans who live in new jersey, new york, california, going to say no way to that. there will be a fight over that. neil: if you get more money back than you would otherwise, then you get on board -- charles: there will be a battle over that. special interests, the private equity industry, carried

interest deduction, and had to keep that in there. it is more of a battle than you think. neil: huber ceo sent out an email saying he will take time away from the company. they are not indicating how long, he should take a 3 month leave of absence. personnel issues, the company, not far away, he takes some time off. charles: ironically a major uber investor, he read me the emails this guy sent out for this party that occurred in 2013 and i said if that is what they are throwing them out for not saying i would talk like that or proper corporate behavior but he didn't say anything that wrong, told people not to have sex if you

work with somebody. if your supervisor you shouldn't be at this party, no crass language, people shouldn't be doing drugs, crass language for flippant language. i'm reading it saying -- neil: a harassing environment. bottom line, any of this going anywhere? charles: if it is just that one email i don't know why -- i spoke with this investor, major investor in uber, he doesn't want the guy out. they think he is a smart guy. neil: if we are going to work on uber, i need to work on -- his first name is travis, to become the leader this company needs and you deserve. doesn't sound like he is leaving but taking a temporary pre-blooge >> corporate america, if there

is anyone institution in this country that bows immediately to media pressure, politically correct, look what jpmorgan did. i am not a big fan of alex jones. i listened once and was repulsed just so you know. before they pull their advertising. our former colleague -- i'm not going to defend megan kelly's interview with him. are you telling me i can't interview a creep and show the guy is a creep? that is what journalism is about. mike wallace interviewed the ayatollah, and he murdered dozens of people, the iranian revolution. >> the first boycott, first advertiser. charles: we are seeping into a weird totalitarian states when boycotts determine what the press covers or doesn't cover. we are on a slippery slope here.

neil: thank you very much. management wants to talk to you by the way. jeff sessions's testimony coming up in an hour and building up some drama here because what it said about the other stuff wall street wants to see getting done obviously still convinced it will get done really.

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fast connections everywhere. that's how you outmaneuver. neil: i wonder how you prepare for any event like this, jeff sessions is going to speak to the same committee james comey did. a lot of media interest in that. how will this go down? adam shapiro watching the prep work for all this and what we could be in store for. >> reporter: you might call it a pile on. we got a preview of what jeff sessions is going to face during what was supposed to be a budget hearing with the senate appropriations subcommittee. take a look at the question senators were asking the deputy attorney general rob rosenstein. >> you are not the witness we

are supposed to hear from today, not the witness who should be behind is able. >> the fact that he has chosen to skip his hearing is unacceptable and the attorney general, i believe, has chosen to skip his hearing today in order to avoid difficult questions about the scope of his recusal. >> wise and jeff sessions here today? >> the height of arrogance for the attorney general not to come before the committee. >> the recusal is a reference to attorney general jeff sessions and the russia investigation. he has recused himself so rod rosenstein was asked specific questions from the appropriations committee about reports that donald trump was perhaps considering firing the special counsel investigating russia. here's what mister rosenstein said. >> has the president ever discussed with you the appointment of the special counselor discussed special counsel in any way? >> know he has not. >> second, if donald trump

ordered you to fire the special counsel, what would you do? >> i will not follow any orders unless they are lawful and appropriate orders. under the regulation, special counsel mueller may be fired only for good cause and i'm required to put that cause in writing. that is what i would do. if that was good cause i would consider it. they were not good cause, it would not matter what anybody says. >> the question that will be addressed to attorney general sessions in 2:30 eastern washington will be about meetings with russians during the campaign. a possible third meeting which has never been substantiated but senators will ask about that and whether mister sessions had discussions with russian ambassador during the meeting. neil: the attorney general, i ask about director mueller's

role as chief counsel in all of this and intimations that were raised, about the possibility by donald trump, could that it has been disavowed by the white house, but that would be problematic not least of which this finding, someone to fire him, it wouldn't be him so what do you think of it? >> the attorney general recused himself entirely so the deputy attorney general's answer stands clearly for itself, there is no guile there. regulation that allows appointment of special counsel provides firing only for cause. cause could be there is nothing left to investigate and so the whole thing is shut down but that is not where we are now and despite some of the mongering on the left, that is not been something the white house has suggested is a course they want to undertake so there is no real there there at this point.

could have things happen in the future? lots of things. we could be hit by an asteroid and make all this irrelevant. neil: there would go the tax cuts. >> that is not going anywhere at this point and it will be a boring afternoon as substance goes for those looking at what the attorney general has to say afternoon. neil: the friend of james comey to whom the former director leaked that memo leaked to the press detailing how he argued the president seemed to be strong-arming him into going slow and light on general flynn. what we are hearing as well is the committee has the information, and saying the special counsel referring to mueller has been in contact with the committee to discuss access. in the meantime he continues to

turn over relevant material to the fbi. where is this going? >> that will take its own course but comey's testimony seemed to suggest that memo alone is a nothing burger. the iron he is comey was doing the leaking and that doesn't buttress his credibility but what comey had to say in his hearing was no collusion investigation of trump as trump had said. thus far they are looking at the russian role in the election but there is no evidence of collusion which is what the ranking democrat mark warner said on sunday talk shows so so far we know russia was trying to mess around in our election, they have been doing it in everybody's including ours for some time, the french election recently, that is not news. there is no evidence of collusion at this point and if anything jim comey suggested further that that was the case

and made it more official. they are not done looking at there will be more research by the intelligence agencies because we do want to know what russia was doing but it doesn't look like there was any collusion with the trump campaign. neil: taking it to the full extreme, what if there were? i'm not a lawyer but that is not -- even in its extreme and impeachable offense, that surprised me but is that the case? >> impeachment is very loosely defined. it is a political offense, not a crime. anything that can get the votes of the majority of the house members can get you a bill of impeachment. that doesn't mean you will get a two third in the senate needed to actually remove from office or find impeachment or to convict. that is not the right word here but a finding of the president under that. it would be a big deal that there is collusion, if nothing else the first time in american history but there is no evidence

of that. neil: do you see any evidence director mueller might have an agenda that he and comey are tight enough and coming masses complement 3 enough, even more abusive than the private hearing, that maybe the deck is stacked against the president? >> mueller has an extraordinarily high reputation in the law enforcement community. it is not hard to imagine someone coming out of the law enforcement community like james comey having expressing that view. you would be hard-pressed to find someone in the law enforcement community who has interacted with robert mueller that doesn't have that view, but to read into those professional compliments the notion that he has an ax to grind, i think goes too far. this is going to play itself out and there is reason to believe he is a credible agent to pursue this. we have the same concern

historically, that any of these special counsel start running amok all over the place but if he stays focused on the russia issues it will be good for america to learn all that and have it all fleshed out and laid before us. neil: good catching up with you. donald trump is trying to focus on the job at hand and that is generating jobs talking healthcare in wisconsin today as well as average folks with average talents we use to admire in this country like electricians and plumbers and that sort of thing. there was a time we value those talents, didn't shove college in every kid's face putting them all in the same mold. it didn't work out for this country but it is all the rage in the rest of the world. on this, the president says, we could learn something. he is going to start teaching it today in wisconsin. we will explain. think again.

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neil: all right. the president is said to leave for milwaukee very soon to push the health care and jobs plan. he wants to encourage a lot of kids who otherwise might not be interested in college. it is okay if you have a skill set and a talent, by all means exploit it, go for it. jeff flock in milwaukee with the latest on all of the above. hey, jeff. reporter: i know neil cavuto knows how to fix his own plumbing and look call systems, so he has a job to fall back on if the tv thing doesn't work out. a lot of people don't value the skills. the president will be here at walk show county technical college outside of milwaukee -- waukesha. he will say a four-year degree is not the best for everyone. look at jobs going wonting, neil. we documented this in multiple

businesses across the country. manufacturing jobs, skilled manufacturing jobs, 360,000 currently unfilled. another 200,000 in the skilled construction trades. these are jobs that you need skills for. it is not pick it up here and pile it there kind of jobs. these are skilled jobs but people don't have the skills for. i'll it will you, as you know he, the president in a past life made apprentices wealthy as well as famous. he would like to do it again because when you look at a starting salary of apprentice in the plumbing trade for example, in the construction trades, it is actually a higher starting salary than that of a conventional four-year considering degree graduate. if you drill down on those numbers, you see the apprenticeship jobs, starting salaries outstrip everyone from engineering majors and computer science majors. better than somebody with a business degree or gets a degree with health care, not to say the

british poetry major, starting salary they get. this makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. it is not something pushed in the past. this would be a fairly popular part of the president's agenda. he is trying to make that point here today. he will have his daughter with him and visit the college. maybe some people will get the message, neil. neil: it is interesting, you and i can probably remember time they had shop in schools. actors like john ratzenberger said we started taking that out, taking value in the skillsets. germans, much europe highly prize them. reporter: i still have a magazine rack that i made in 11th grade shop my mother still uses despite the fact that it is about to fall apart. it c you do. neil: like me with the plus or minus screwdriver. something inate. thank you, very much, jeff flock, who somehow seems to think i might not be handy.

republican senators are working to finish this health care draft bill but there are a lot of reports that they don't always degree on the details. hence they're not itching to release it to the public including fellow republicans beyond just a small number of them, red alert politics editor ron meyer, and rasmussen reports political analyst amy holmes. amy, this isn't unusual for a party for its chieftans, core group, "gang of eight" comes to mind, immigration reform, come up with ideas and then widen it out. what we learn from that also it can be torpedoed coming out of the gate? what you do you think of this approach because it is angering a lot of republicans? >> that's right. when you have this negotiation happening in secret it can end up in the graveyard of legislative proposals. it needs to be out in the open. we know from the first health care push on the house side that there was a lot of controversy,

a lot of debate just by republicans. you had conservative republicans, you had moderate republicans. i think this may not be the best approach in order to build consensus. charles: ron, where do you think this is going? when i hear republicans at least getting out of sort, not all, but this is human nature if you're not invited to that little pow-wow, you feel that you don't have the influence, and you get bitter, but where is this going? >> well right now it is going nowhere, right? here's the problem. we have everybody is already sniping at each other before there is even a plan out there on the floor. what should be done is what has been done for hundreds of years in the united states senate, put an idea out there. have other ideas out there, see which one gets the most votes, which one gets to the 50. rand paul will have a plan, leadership will have a plan, others have plans. widen has a plan with republicans with cassidy on health care. see which plans survive. which gets most votes and see if

we can get on to the president's agenda. the leadership-pushed plan in the house, that failed out the gate, right? they had to go back and reorganize. we have to make sure, republicans need to make sure that doesn't happen again. this needs to have consensus. pushing people out early on the discussion like this will only alienate them more. they will get their own plans. i will not support the leadership plans and they're out on island. neil: i understand the conundrum. 52 republicans in the senate more problematic in the house when that happens. christie, i think republicans might have taken the wrong page on democrats in health care just relying on their fellow party members to do this. maybe for good reason but they could call the democrats bluff, well we tried. i think that is a crucial potential failure. >> they could say we tried. it would not be credible. i think there is -- neil: no need to worry because they didn't. >> right, exactly.

they didn't at all. and the, you know problem for that is that when and if this fails as well, they will have only themselves to take the blame. they won't actually be able to say this was something that was bipartisan. neil: christie, the rap there democrats know the thing is falling apart. >> yeah. neil: we're getting more information that two million fewer should really be registered as obamacare recipient. >> obamacare failing. neil: my only point saying this, for democrats to sit back and say, all right, republicans, you, you are argue over this, it is on them too. >> i think democrats have always said there are tweaks that could be made to obamacare. i don't think anyone has been opposed to that. neil: this would need a lot more than tweaks. telling me to lose a few pounds. >> this needs a major overhaul. that is exactly right. >> i don't think democrats agree with that. neil: look at the math. you guys are pretty good at math, right?

>> 23 million fewer people are insured under the house plan. that is what we know. neil: forecast over 10 years. it is not as 23 million will be locked out now. >> neil, you have to remember because they're not forcing people to get insurance. they got rid of individual mandate so people choose not to have insurance. it makes insurance more of affordable. that is what the house plan did, that was shown. people would afford, instead of buying something they can't afford. that comes down to. the funny thing about the house bill, it is mostly major tweaks of obamacare. it is not a full repeal. the conservatives voted for it. where are these democrats on it? neil: government health care forced, amy, if republicans argue coming up with dramatically new and different still might but that is what it looking like to me? >> democrats can't sit on their hands to watch from the sidelines. we know obamacare is entering a death spiral. we have insurance companies pulling out of the individual market. millions of americans simply don't have a choice if they try to go on obamacare exchanges.

neil: then they have common ground hire. they have common ground. neither side is recognizing it. i want everyone to come together and hug. >> oh, neil. >> you would be the guy to do it. >> you're a kind soul. neil: i'm telling you. this is closer than we think. there are common bonds here where they could find something but, i don't know. i have done what i can, america. guys, thank you all very, very much. i do appreciate it. meanwhile we heard about earlier on a lot of these ceos who are twice as optimistic as they were just a year ago about the future of the country. wait until you hear how small businesses are feeling. all of this soap opera on what gets through and what happens to health care, tax cuts happen, russia colluding in our elections, all of that not withstanding they're off the charts optimistic. why is that? after this. ♪

♪ neil: all right. uber nice to know you as was widely rumored ceo travis kalanick sending an email to employees he will take time away from the company. no indication how long of a time he will be a way. a board internal study led by the former attorney general, his new private law firm, eric holder, had recommended at least three months. might be less than, might be more than that. kalanick is not saying but that all of this follows the dust-up over company ethics and harassing atmosphere and loosey-goosey rules suffice it to say there has been a good deal of bloodletting and let going, if you will , top executives that reported to kalanick. whether it leads to suspension of kalanick the founder of this ride-sharing behemoth is anyone's guess but we'll keep an eye on it. meanwhile technology in the green today across the board not

back where they were but, amazon, alphabet fell 4% last couple days. each clung their way back. dow is up in record territory buoyed by optimism among ceos. we got into that a little earlier, and now independent small businesses feel the same way. national federation of independent business president is here. what is happening, juanita. >> thanks, neil, for having me back. the small business optimism index put out by the nfib shows that optimism continues to soar since the election but we think this is a definitely policy-based phenomenon. small businesses expecting tax reform and they want it to pass and obamacare repeal. neil: that was pretty much oak can can oak -- echoed in a ceo survey. these are ceos of large multinational firm down to one billion revenue category which is still substantial obviously but they all feel to a man or

woman by overwhelming majorities double the optimism a year ago, that will come through and see regulations rolled back. all of that will come to pass. i always wonder when i see that optimism in advance, if it doesn't happen or doesn't go to that timeline, then what? >> well certainly small business in america is demanding tax reform. that is what they voted for. and i continue to believe that if congress, and the administration don't deliver on that promise, you will see some substantial drops in the optimism index. one of the problems here is the senate calendar is beginning to fill up. and if they don't get to tax reform soon, there is going to be a problem. we believe that tax reform can be done and it doesn't need to be that hard. neil: all right. they're apparently finding it difficult. i mean i know this was a subpoena rat group of republicans the president was meeting with at the white house, about a dozen of them.

some moderate, some much more conservative on the health care aspect. yet there is a wide disparity of opinion among republicans how to proceed from there and since they have given up on the notion of combining that with tax cuts, do you ever worry this he could get so bogged down in the details, intricacies and differences on health care they don't get around to tax cuts? >> we certainly think that it would be easy enough to repeal the trillion dollars in taxes in the obamacare bill, and to repeal the employer mandate. that would be enough for the nfib but you make an interesting point. neil: that is interesting. in other words, don't redo the whole thing. get rid of those features and move on? >> there are plenty of bad features about obamacare. getting rid of one trillion dollars in taxes and employer mandate, that is what nfib would like to see. that is our priority. when it comes to tax reform, a word of caution. congress, can't be honey i have a headache. they will have to pop advil to

get on with it because the senate calendar is getting filled this takes a lot of time on the floor. certainly parity, tax cuts, parity between small businesses and large businesses is what nfib wants to see. neil: thank you very much, juanita. we'll see how all this roll. >> thank you, neil. neil: think about it, his democratic predecessor couldn't do it, barack obama. his republican predecessor, george bush couldn't do it. countless secretaries of state couldn't do it. get north korea to behave. who are you going to call? obviously that leaves only one name. dennis rodman. ♪ [vo] when it comes to investing, looking from a fresh perspective can make all the difference. it can provide what we call an unlock: a realization that often reveals a better path forward.

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♪ neil: all right. dennis rodman arriving in north korea now. he says he is willing and hoping to try to open the door to pyongyang. of course rodman's last trip you recall back in 2014 where he also met with the north korean dictator. in fact they hit it off quite well. the north koreans are a big fan of rodman. i didn't know their penchant interest in basketball. i learn new things every day. i'm willing to admit it.

north korea state media is threatening a nuclear strike on new york city. that kind of was lost on me because at first they said in donald trump's hometown. i realize donald trump's hometown is new york city! to former green beret, ben collins. what do you make of that? now dennis rodman as his roll visiting as a private citizen, but i'm sure getting some coaching hopefully to calm the situation down, what do you make of it? >> well, like you mentioned, look, dennis rodman is there as a private citizen. so i hope that our national security policy has, i highly doubt it is in the hands of dennis rodman unless he was there to coach basketball. he was probably the most impressive rebounding forward in nba history. as for diplomacy side, look, reality is north korea has over the last 20 years has never shied away from their goal, and that is to have a nuclear weapon

that is capable of traveling across continents and they are, they are nearing their goal. so over the last 10 years, neil, they have gone from a one kiloton explosion to 30. hiroshima was 15. they need a miss till to carry it. we've seen missiles that have the ability to travel. there is one that could reach new york. we doubt he has it weaponized small enough to be in a warhead. but the most important part will be the nose cone so it can go into the atmosphere and come back. whether he has the capability or not he is trying to. he will keep going until something stops him. neil: as you've been pointing out, you were way ahead of the curve, ben, he is rapidly moving in that direction. let me ask, all the stuff we have done including to arm the south koreans with adequate defense system. of course the south koreans pulled because they didn't want to do anything provocative.

i think to myself, provocative is what the guy north of you is doing. having said that, what would be deemed a proper reaction for us right now because the chinese have warned about building up defenses in south korea? they have also warned about shooting down a north korea missile at least over land. i guess they would not act so despair ringingly if it was over the korean peninsula. what do you make of that? what are your options here? >> our options, we have to worry about south korea. what a lot of people forget there is massive amount of artillery pieces, so conventional artillery pieces sit on that dividing line between north/south cree that can range into seoul. millions of lives are at stake there. as far as putting pressure on north korea itself, the only state that has that capability is north korea.

north korea represents, excuse me, china are cents about 90% of north korea he's trade. they bring 85% of the their energy into north korea. they can turn the lights off. they can stop buying their stuff if they truly wanted to shut north korea down. the concern here, there is that concept within asia like saving face, in terms of what can be done publicly and what should be done privately and i believe that china is probably nearing the limits of its patience with north korea in terms of having a client state. i honestly believe there will be a point where china will decide to actually take some action on their own. the two things they don't want is a unified korea under a western, you know, a western ally relationship, i.e., if we did go into north korea, and the second thing is if there was conflict there would be millions of refugees that would spill into china and that is the second thing they would not stand for. so i believe that economically

having china shut it down is going to be, is going to be the only viable option outside of some form of aggression or conflict from us. neil: if they're not stringing us along. ben come lines, former green beret. thank you. >> thank you, neil. neil: you might have heard a thing or two that the golden state warriors taken back basketball's crown here. computer guber, co-owner of the warriors. he joins us on the floor. congratulations. >> thank you, neil. good to talk to you. on the way back now. revenge is best served in championship win here. but of course does your question is, does your team go to the white house and how soon? >> i don't know. right now i'm trying to come back from -- [inaudible] but i think the idea of celebration, parades are great and hopefully, hopefully we can

get on with our business. we haven't even addressed the thought of about really at all. now as long as you mentioned it, we were so focused on kyrie irving and lebron james we didn't have a chance to focus on donald trump and white house yet. neil: yeah. one step at a time. leave it to a team with your record and success that only blemish they could put on it is that one loss on the way to what looked like a complete, undefeated post-season affair and a rout. that you were denied that. how do you feel about that? >> always gives you another hill to climb, another opportunity to prevail and life is the journey and journey is -- [inaudible]. you know this year we're both adults. it is effervescent. you can't put your arm around

it, hard to put a grasp on it. you know it when you see it or feel it. i think it is great. any bums in the road always make the journey more interesting. neil: that's for sure. peter, i wonder, with brands like yours, competing with hockey playoffs going on, obviously some divided attention, not nearly as much as basketball which has much more broader appeal, when it comes to tv ratings, that one of the things you look at? we have attention divided for sports fans? >> yeah, i think it is but you know, generally ratings are up 22% which is a phenomenal thing in the era of somewhat declining -- [inaudible] i haven't seen the overnights, forgive me, i was up there until 3:00 in the morning, you have to think that on a monday night, with no hock youky game going on, no "monday night football" going on, baseball still in early part of the season, it's a monday night, that 9:00 at night

on monday knight on the east coast had to be choice viewing times for anybody that wanted to have something other than a commercial -- [inaudible]. neil: where does this stand in terms of valuable pieces of broadcast and team real estate? like the l.a. dodgers and what you've done over at mandalay entertainment group and all your holdings? where does this stack up? >> well, you know, each child is a different child. not that they're children. each partner is a different partner. a different needs, different constituencies. different benefits. the audience, movies are truly passengers. you watch rocky the same person, did you watch -- [inaudible]. watch on the airplane -- these games the audience, live audience is more like participants. they think they make a

difference. they do, they do have some measure of effects -- effectiveliness on outside. audience is participants. which is another valuable asset of that audience. so i think that you approach audiences differently. you approach audiences with vr differently. approach audiences on television award shows, billboard audience, approach that audience differently. neil: yeah. >> every audience is a little different that they what. that is the joy of it. gives you for me a bouquet of opportunities to work with. neil: so you don't ever go back to the dodges and say, i love the warriors much more than you? >> no, you know he, they're both, they're both beautiful girls. i love watching them dance. and i love watching them play. i realize that maybe i can, as an owner i can -- [inaudible] neil: peter guber. congratulations again.

you built this. you should be proud of it. co-owner of golden state warriors, ceo of mandalay group. he has been picked by variety of democrats and republican governors across the board appeal. that brings me to trish regan for the next hour. hey, there, trish. trish: thank you, neil. breaking ceo of uber, travis kalanick will be taking a leave of absence from the troubled company. we're just 30 minutes away from attorney general jeff sessions testimony on capitol hill where senators will grill him, lots of grilling about his contacts with the russian ambassador during the presidential campaign and what role if any he played in the firing of former fbi director james comey. a lot going on. i'm trish regan. welcome, everyone, to "the intelligence report." we will hear about famed